Tag Archives: plastic-free

World’s first biodegradable water bottles made with PHA degrade 200 times faster than plastic

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Over the past few years, we’ve grown more aware that plastic water bottles are among the biggest pollutants in the world. A lot of the more eco-conscious people have resorted to bringing their reusable water bottles and stopped consuming these plastic bottles. Still, plastics remain a big problem and these bottles in particular take 450 years to break down. There are a lot of studies and moves to combat this issue and now we are getting the “first biodegradable water bottle”.

Designer: Cove

These water bottles created by the California start-up is made up of PHA, a material made through fermentation but still looks a lot like plastic. The design itself looks like a typical water bottle except it’s not transparent and looks more like a milk container. The feel is also that of plastic so it may not be reusable since it’s meant for single use or at least up to a few uses at the very least. It’s described as plastic-free, biodegradable, non-toxic, renewable, compostable, and recyclable.

PHA is a biopolymer that comes from feeding things like vegetable oil, sugar, and food to microbes. They will then turn these materials into a polymer in their cells and these can be extracted and turned into PHA. When this material is exposed to other microbes during the composting phase, it can be broken down easily. How long it decomposes though depends on the environment but they estimate it to be around 1.5 to 4.5 years. It’s still not ideal but at least it’s way shorter than 450 years.

The Cove still water bottles officially became available publicly at Erewhon, an organic grocery in the California area. This is a great alternative to the truly wasteful single-use plastic water bottles that have been causing problems to the earth, especially the oceans, for decades now. While it’s still better to use the reusable water bottles that you can carry with you anywhere, at least there’s a viable option now for plastic water bottle manufacturers.

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COVID-19 test material made from gelatin is sustainable, plastic-free

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To say that COVID-19 brought a lot of problems globally is probably the understatement of the decade. Aside from the obvious medical, social, and economic effects, there has also been a major impact on our environment, particularly in terms of the increase of single-use plastics. COVID-19 tests have of course been a necessity but they have contributed to non-biodegradable medical waste that we throw away every day. Since we’ll probably be living with this virus for some years, there must be a way to stem this use of single-use plastics.

Designer: Luis Fernando Sanchez Barrios

This Mexico-based designer thought about this growing problem. The fact that we throw away 10g of plastic every time we use a lateral flow coronavirus test is troubling if you think about the environmental footprint that this leaves. So he thought about coming up with a more sustainable alternative to the current lateral flow assays or anything that’s being used to test for the COVID-19 virus. Another concern would be something that will not add to the cost of making these tests. What he came up with is something called Gelassette.

The designer actually created a biodegradable cellulose-based rapid test back in 2020 but now he has come up with something based on this but with an improved and optimized design. This new prototype uses no plastic with the positive characteristics needed mimicked by gelatin. This material is already utilized in other medical technology and is a fully biodegradable material. With this material, you get 4 weeks soil biodegradability and less than 3 hours of water dispersibility.

This is a pretty important development in terms of coming up with more environment-friendly COVID-19 tests. Now as to whether Gelassette will work with these existing lateral flow assay tests from various medical companies is another thing.

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This sustainable material made from shell waste is cheaper & eco-friendly alternative to concrete!

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Each year over 7 million tons of seashells are thrown away by the seafood industry into landfills. Shells are not biodegradable and have a very high disposal cost which harms the environment as well as the restaurant owners. So this innovative, women-run,  material lab called Newtab-22 created Sea Stone – a natural product made from seashell waste that was salvaged from the seafood and aquaculture industries. It is a sustainable alternative to using concrete – one of the biggest producers of carbon emissions – in the making of smaller products.

Sea Stone is made by grinding down shells that are destined for landfills before combining them with natural, non-toxic binders. This grants the material a terrazzo-like aesthetic. The aim is to make it a sustainable alternative to concrete in the design of small-scale products, as the two materials share similar properties. Seashells are rich in calcium carbonate aka limestone, which is used to make cement – a key ingredient of concrete.

The process involves grinding down the shells and mixing them with natural binders. They are then added to a mould and left to solidify into concrete-like tiles. This method is currently carried out manually to avoid the use of heat, electricity and chemical treatments and ensure the process is as sustainable and affordable as possible. It results in variations in the sizes, textures and colours of the shell fragments and means that each piece of Sea Stone is unique. You can get different textures by altering the number of shells, binders, or adding coloured dyes for aesthetics.

“Even though some of the seashells have been recycled and used as fertilisers, the majority of them are being thrown into landfills or by the seaside. The discarded seashells, which are uncleaned or rotten, have not been cleared away at all and they have been piling up near the beach for a long time, thus causing odour pollution and polluting the surrounding land in the long run. Sea Stone proposes the use of discarded seashells to create environmentally and economically sustainable material rather than contributing to the world’s rubbish problem,” explained Newtab-22.

Newtab-22 has experimented with an array of natural binders in the development of Sea Stone, including sugar and agar. It is now reliant on two undisclosed and patent-pending sources. The material is currently being developed for commercial purposes and has so far been used to make products such as decorative tiles, tabletops, plinths and vases.

While the properties of the concrete and Sea Stone are similar, to truly replicate the strength of traditional concrete required in large-scale projects like buildings, an energy-intensive heating process would be required. This would be comparable to the method used to make cement, which accounts for half of all the CO2 emissions that result from using concrete. “The power of the material is different, we do not want to harm the environment in the process or the outcome,” said Hyein Choi, co-founder of the studio.

Sea Stone is versatile, durable and a lightweight alternative to not only concrete but also plastic – it can be used to produce several objects while repurposing waste, reducing carbon emissions of the toxic counterpart materials and keeping the costs low. Time to find that girl who sells sea shells by the sea shore, eh?

Designer: Newtab-22

This plastic-free oral care set is an all-in-one sustainable alternative for daily use or travel kits!

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Small parts of our routine tend to have a big environmental impact, for instance, floss is good for our teeth but it is terrible for the ocean and turns it into a plastic minefield. Toothbrush bristles as well as floss are made up of nylon which is not biodegradable but another thing that makes it dangerous is that it is designed to not tear causing serious harm to ocean life. When looking at these issues it is clear that we need to move away from single-use plastics and find a more eco-friendly, long-term solution like the Seventh Generation Beam – a customizable, subscription-based, plastic-free set that is designed to be the all-in-one sustainable oral care kit.

Did you know one billion plastic toothbrushes are thrown away every year in the United States, creating 50 million pounds of waste annually? The production of the nylon bristles on each toothbrush causes nitrous oxide to be produced and released into the atmosphere as a bi-product; nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Seventh Generation’s goal is to limit harmful chemicals and they use plant-based ingredients, scents made from real ingredients, and no synthetic fragrances/dyes in their products. It encourages the importance of wellness is in our personal care, household products, and generally in our everyday lifestyle. The concept demands we expand our understanding of what nourishes us without harming the planet through beautiful and innovative design.

The aim is to create 100% plastic-free packaging. The challenge is to rebrand a traditional product line and redesign the packaging system to be fully sustainable while utilizing no plastic or bioplastic. Biomaterials like tin, wood pulp, plant cellulose, food waste, grass, algae, and mushrooms are being considered. It will all be sustainably sourced, preferably materials that are at the end of their lives and can be composed into biomass to regenerate depleted farming soils.

The design and aesthetics are playful, warm, organic and unlike the language, one might typically associate with “eco-friendly products” which usually only sparks the idea of “bamboo”. Seventh Generation shows that innovation and changing the things we choose can be achieved with visuals just as much as the value added by the product itself.

The kit consists of toothpaste tablets, refillable floss, and a toothbrush. While this is a concept, the aim is to make these products plastic-free as well. Toothpaste tablets already exist and help reduce product and chemical waste while eco-friendly floss and toothbrushes are also gaining popularity as people become more aware of the consequences their actions have on the environment.

Designer: Beatrice Ma

This biodegradable material made from seaweed is used to make ‘disappearing’ plastic-free packaging!

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Plastic is not biodegradable and is one of the biggest contributors to waste and pollution. Every year, 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the oceans and has resulted in a desperate need to change our behavior when it comes to single-use plastic. Meet Notpla – a sustainable material made by a start-up that’s on a mission to make packaging disappear naturally. The innovative seaweed-based material is a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastic that is clogging up our pipes and our planet.

Notpla has created an evolutionary, biodegradable seaweed-based material that can be used to replace plastic cups and condiment sachets with this sustainable packaging solution. It can also be made into thin films or a coating for cardboard to create a wide range of products. “Consumers today are not just aware, but emotionally connected with the issue of plastic pollution. We joined its design engineers and backers to deliver the strategy, name, identity, and brand that would leave people in no doubt about its potential value in the world,” says the team.

Notpla’s products are geared towards cutting down on single-use plastic, giving consumer brands a significant advantage as audiences become more conscious about food packaging. It has been designed to be a simple, bold definition of who they are – not plastic, but a completely new material that is more than just a brand’s clever name.

notpla

The edible, biodegradable material is made from plants and brown seaweed – one of nature’s most renewable resources. It can be used directly to replace plastic cups at sporting events, festivals, and private parties, as well as sachets for condiments, and can be made into thin films or a coating for cardboard to create a wide range of products. It is durable and disappears without harming the environment.

Notpla was trialed in 2019 at the London Marathon with Lucozade and London Cocktail Week and since formed a partnership with Just Eat and Unilever to provide more sustainable food packaging, whilst creating a new and exciting experience for customers. Growing up to 1m per day, it doesn’t compete with food crops, doesn’t need fresh water or fertiliser and actively contributes to de-acidifying our oceans.

The products have featured at Virgin Money’s London Marathon and London Cocktail Week and the brand also has a partnership with Just Eat and Unilever. Conventional wisdom dictates that a brand should be defined by what it is, not what it isn’t. But when what it isn’t is one of the world’s biggest problems – plastics – that’s OK. (Particularly when what it is, is seaweed).

The minimal sachets make a big contribution toward cutting down on single-use plastic, giving consumer brands a significant advantage as audiences make more conscious choices about where and what they eat today. Notpla disintegrates naturally in 4-6 weeks – no micro-plastics, no waste for centuries. Unlike PLA, it is home compostable and doesn’t contaminate PET recycling. It is not too good to be true, it is actually true and you can shop the product here.

Designer: Superunion

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